Elevator.



No. 683,620. Patented-Oct. l, mu,-

' A. nosmson.

ELEVATOR.

(Application filed May 9, 1901.) (,No Model.) 2 8heets-Shaet I.

No. 683,620. Patented Dot. I, l90l.

A. aosmsou.

ELEVATOR.

I (Application filed May 9; 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREXV ROBINSON, OF UHRIOHSVILLE, OHIO.

ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,620, dated October 1, 1901.

Application filed May 9, 1901,

To all whom it ntay concern.-

Be it known that 1, ANDREW ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Uhrichsville, in the county of Tuscarawas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The provision of an elevator for use in factories, warehouses, and other places where freight is to be lowered from an upper to a lower floor and which will not occupy valuable space or interfere with the movements of trucks and the shifting of goods has long been sought after; and itis the purpose of the present invention to construct an elevator which will answer the foregoing requirements and which can be handled with safety both as to the person and goods, the speed of the car or platform being perfectly under control by a powerful brake mechanism, the operating-lever of which is the only part projecting above the floor from which the goods are to be lowered, and said lever being so positioned as to be out of the way when the elevator is not required for use. The car or platform is counterbalanced, so as to normally occupy the highest position and till the opening in the upper floor, thereby preventing a person or object falling therethrongh.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for efiecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and drawings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic feat-ures of the invention are necessarily susceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a building equipped with an elevator constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section. Fig. is a detail view of the brake mechanism. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the brake mechanism, showing more lowered.

Serial No. 59,484. (No model.)

clearly the mounting for the lever and the connections between the brake-band and the said lever.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The elevator is primarily intended for tile factories and is to be located adjacent the tile-press, so as to obviate the handling and haulage incident to transporting the tile from the press to distant elevators. The mechanism connected with the platform is attached to the joists or sleepers of the upper floor from which the tile and other goods are to be The only thing obstructing the lower floor is the guides 1, provided for directing the platform 2 in its vertical movements. 'These guides consist of parallel posts spaced apart to receive between them the end portions of a transverse beam 3, attached to the platform 2 and connected to the frame thereofby posts 4 and braces 5. Sprocketchains 6 are connected at one end to the transverse beam 3 and pass over sprocket-wheels 7 and 8 immediately below the upper floor .9, in which the opening is formed for the reception of the platform 2. The lower ends of the sprocket chains are provided with weights 10, which counterbalance the platform 2 and hold it in its highest position and return it to a normal position after being released of the load carried thereby from the upper floor to the lower floor 11. The sprocket-wheels 7 are idlers and are located so that a toothed portion is in vertical line with the portion of the sprocket-chains attached to the transverse beam 3. The sprocket-wheels 8 are attached to a transverse shaft 12, journaled in hangers 13, pendent from the floor 9. As the platform moves up or down motion is imparted to the shaft 12 by means of sprocket-chains 6 and sprocketwheels 8, and in order to control the speed of the platform a brake mechanism is provided and applied to the shaft 12. A sprocketchain and set of sprocket-wheels are provided for each end of the platform, thereby preventing one end from traveling faster than the opposite end, which is of material advantage in obviating binding and in causing the plat form to move so as to be parallel at all stages of its movement with a given position.

The brake mechanism for controlling the speed of the platform consists of a pulley 14 and a brake-band 15. The pulley 14 is secured to the shaft 12 so as to rotate therewith, and the brake-band 15 encircles the pulley, and its ends are connected by links 16 with a lever 17 upon opposite sides of its fulcrum, whereby a movement of said lever in one direction will cause the brake-band to grip the pulley 14: with a force amply sufficient to control the descent of the platform when heavily loaded. The lever 17 is f ulcrumed to a bracket 18, attached to the proximal hanger 13 or to any convenient part of the floor 9. The part 17 constitutes the brake-lever, and an operating-lever 19 is detachably connected thereto and is removed when the elevator is not in use, so as to be out of the way and not obstruct the upper floor 9. In order to guard against accident, the platform is propped or fastened so as to prevent its premature descent when the operating-lever 19 is removed. Detent mechanism is provided for cooperation with the lever 19 to hold the platform in the desired position, and, as shown, this detent mechanism consists of a pawl 20, hand-latch 21, and toothed bar 22, the latter being secured to the floor 9 and located in a slot or opening formed therein. The brake-band is reinforced by wooden blocks 23, although material of any kind may be attached thereto to resist Wear and engage frictionally with the pulley 14, so as to govern the movement of the platform.

An elevator constructed in accordance with this invention may be located at any desired point, sinceit does not obstruct the upper floor, upon which the machinery for manu= facturing tile or the goods stored is located. When it is required to lower the product or goods, the same are placed upon the platform 2, and after the desired amount has been piled upon the platform the latter is released by operating the hand-latch 21, which withdraws the pawl 20 from engagement with the toothed bar 22, and by manipulating the operatinglever 19 the brake mechanism can be set so as to permit the platform to descend fast or slow, as desired.

The reference herein to tile is to be taken in its general sense, and while the elevator is designed for tile it is most especiallyintended for use in sewer-pipe factories and is located near the sewer-pipe press for lowering the pipes when required.

Having thus described the invention,what is claimed as new is 1. In an elevator, a platform, a transverse beam arranged at a distance below the platform and connected therewith, guides cooperating with the said transverse beam and platform to direct the latter in its vertical movements, weighted sprocket-chains connected with the terminalportions of the transverse beam, a set of sprocket-wheels for each sprocket chain, a shaft connecting corresponding sprocket-wheels and adapted to be rotated thereby, a brake mechanism applied to said shaft for controlling the movements of the platform, and an operating-lever for setting the brake mechanism more or less, substantially as set forth.

2. In an elevator, a platform normally closing an opening in the upper floor, actuating and guide mechanisms for the said platform located wholly below the said upper floor, a brake for controlling the movements of the platform and comprising a brake-lever, and an operating-lever detachably connected to the brakelever and adapted to project above the upper floor within convenient reach for setting the brake and adapted to be removed when the elevator is notin use, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW ROBINSON. [L. s.]

Nitnesses:

FRANK PETERS, T. D. HEALEA. 

